Late Diagnosis of Breast Cancer Causes Death

Article posted on:10/10/2008

The family of a New York woman recently settled a case arising out of a radiologist's failure to properly read and interpret a mammogram. The decedent, a 46 year old woman with a husband and two children, underwent a routine mammogram which was read as normal. A few months later, the woman detected a lump in her breast and was referred for a second mammogram. The second mammogram was interpreted as normal by a radiologist. Several months after that, however, the breast became inflamed and doctors performed a biopsy. The biopsy revealed Stage III breast cancer that had metastasized/spread to three quarters of her lymph nodes. A mastectomy, chemotherapy and radiation were all unsuccessful and the woman died of her cancer 20 months after the diagnosis. The case ultimately settled for approximately 3 million dollars.

As with most illnesses, early diagnosis of cancer is the best ammunition that a patient has toward defeating the disease. If, however, the cancer was missed by physicians for an appreciable amount of time or simply not timely diagnosed, a patient can face dire consequences. Sadly, these delays in diagnosis can result in more invasive treatment, extended physical and emotional heartache and even death. Most cancers are either graded or staged in terms of their severity. The lower the grade or stage (i.e., the earlier the diagnosis), the better a patient's chances are of survival. Conversely, the higher the grade or stage, the worse a patient's chances are of survival. Importantly, a delay in diagnosis can increase the likelihood that the tumor will metastasize (spread) to the lungs, thereby significantly decreasing a person's chances of survival. In Maryland, failure to diagnose cases can only be pursued if the negligence caused the patient's cancer to progress from a stage in which the patient had a probability of surviving the cancer if he or she received proper treatment to a circumstance in which they now face a probability of death due to the growth / spread of the cancer inside the body.

As experienced Baltimore, Maryland medical malpractice attorneys, we have successfully settled or received favorable trial verdicts arising out of physicians' failure to timely diagnose cancer and other illnesses. Some of the more common types of cancer misdiagnoses that we have handled include: brain tumors, breast cancer, lung cancer, bone cancer, cartilaginous tumors, pancreatic cancer, liver cancer, prostate cancer, skin cancer, cervical cancer, esophageal cancer, nasal cavity cancer, colon cancer and and rectal cancer. Determining whether a physician negligently failed to diagnose and/or timely diagnose cancer requires a detailed analysis of a patient's medical records and the assistance of trained medical–legal experts. Our office not only has the resources to conduct this detailed investigation and retain world–class experts, but we have the expertise to present and explain a complicated case to a jury. Together with our medical–legal experts, we investigate whether the physicians failed to properly interpret diagnostic tests, failed or delayed in ordering the proper diagnostic tests, rendered an incorrect diagnosis of a patient's symptoms, missed tell–tale signs of an illness or disease process, failed to refer the patient to a specialist in the field, or erred in pathological, radiological or laboratory testing.

We serve the following Maryland localities: Baltimore City Circuit Court including Patapsco, Wabash and North Avenue Courts; Baltimore County Circuit court including Towson, Catonsville and Essex Courts; Anne Arundel County Circuit Court including Annapolis and Glen Burnie Courts; Harford County Circuit Court including Bel Air; Howard County Circuit Court including Columbia and Ellicott City; Prince George's County including Hyattsville and Upper Marlboro Courts; Montgomery County including Rockville and Silver Spring courts; all Maryland federal courts including both Baltimore and Greenbelt, the Maryland Court of Appeals and Court of Special Appeals in Annapolis and Washington DC.